Accardi (Genevieve and Matteo) by Allison Franklin novel Chapter 77

er Seventy–Seven

Matteo didn’t hear what Genevieve asked him. His hands were mechanically throwing away the bandage wrappings while his mind took him back to the meeting he’d just been in. There was something off about Luca Guerra. Matteo never felt more sure of anything. He was young, maybe early twenties but that wasn’t necessarily unusual. He certainly looked like he was of Italian descent but his accent was clearly played up. Mostly, it was the way his eyes moved around the room as if everything he saw was a calculative decision Matteo used to stay in power and he needed to absorb it for later analysis.

Matteo felt a hand on his back and released a long sigh. He turned to find Genevieve staring up at him with concern etched across her brow. He looked down at her wrapped knuckles and stifled a groan at the much more favorable image of her on top of Mallory: feral and unrelenting. He smirked, remembering how it was Frankie who brought his attention to the fight.

“Holy fucking shit, that’s hot,” Frankie had said.

It caught Guerra’s attention too. “Isn’t that the little filly you had on your arm, Accardi? I thought she was your escort but I guess she’s really your bodyguard?”

“Matteo?” Gen repeated for the umpteenth time, finally succeeding in breaking his trance.

He blinked and finally met her ice–blue eyes. The crease in her forehead lessened with his eye contact. “I’m sorry. What?”

“What happened in the meeting?”

Matteo shrugged. “Nothing really,” he said, feeling her tense up beside him. “This Luca Guerra character… there’s something wrong with

him.”

“What’s your gut telling you?” she asked, staying back while he walked toward his desk.

Matteo fell down in his office chair with a weighted sigh. “That he’s not real.”

“Not real?” Gen repeated, finally following him and leaning back against the desk.

“No one can find any record of him before two years ago. He just appeared in Los Angeles out of thin air. Then there were his questions. Asking me about territories, who ran what, where he could find a hold for himself within the city.”

“He wants to move to New York? Maybe LA is too sunny,” she guessed with a cute smirk.

He smiled back, took her hands and pulled her between his legs. “He’s doing very well in LA. Several other big names have been driven out. Some have been put behind bars. He has great opportunities there. It would be stupid to throw all that away for a few rainy days.”

“Hmmm,” Gen hummed while running her hands up and down his arms. “Could he be someone sent from your cousin? Like you sent

Beatrice?”

Matteo raised a brow, proud of her critical thinking. “Not likely. If he had sent someone, they wouldn’t arrange a meeting. They’d

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Chapter Seventy–Seven

infiltrate into my inner circle.”

“How do you know I’m not a spy?” she asked, wiggling her brows.

Matteo chuckled. “You’re too beautiful. Galante would never let me have you,” he answered, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“So this Guerra character. What did he want from you other than information on the streets?” she asked, utilizing an urban accent.

“I’m afraid we didn’t get that far. We couldn’t resist the chick on chick action going on outside,” he said, squeezing her waist for

emphasis.

“How rude of them to interrupt,” she said, her face turning a shade pinker.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll reschedule the meeting. In the meantime I’ll try to figure out where Luca Guerra came from.”

Gen shrugged and pulled away. She started walking around his office, glancing at the various paintings and book shelves. “Maybe you

should check the cop database in LA.”

Matteo turned his chair to stare at her back. “What?”

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Gen shrugged again. “You said a lot of people have been pushed out of LA, right? A few even put behind bars? Seems odd that this new

guy comes out of nowhere and suddenly his competitors are dropping like flies.”

He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of that. The man didn’t give off a cop vibe, but then again, the guy had been at this for two years.

He’d probably worked under another Don or mafia leader before that. Then there was what recently happened with Galante. Could it be

possible he’d infiltrated his cousin’s ranks? Could it be possible that Guerra went to Michele with the same questions and Michele took

the bait? How had he not thought of that? He would have to reach out to Marco. Running his face through the police database should

have been one of the first things he did but there was never a report on that.

“Did I say something wrong?” Gen asked, standing in front of him again.

“No, Weakness, you said something very right,” he told her. “Enough talk of another man. How about we get out of here and get back to

our date?” he asked, standing.

Her eyes gleamed up at him. “Yes, let’s do that.”

Matteo watched Gen through the reflection of the car window. She had her head leaned back against the seat and one hand on his thigh.

Her eyes would flutter shut every thirty seconds or so until her head would lull forward and wake her back up.

“Stop here, Leo,” Matteo demanded, startling Gen out of another dozing episode.

“Here? We’re still three blocks from the apartment,” Leo said, though he did as he was told.

Matteo looked at Gen and squeezed her hand. “Exactly. I have a plan to enact.”

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Chapter Seventy–Seven

:

Genevieve smiled wide as Matteo pushed the car door open. He took the cigarette he kept between his fingers throughout the ride and took a long, hard pull. By the time he got around to her side of the car the cigarette was nearly burned down to his knuckles. He flicked the cigarette away and opened the door. When she tried to step out he clicked his tongue, halting her attempts.

Genevieve rolled her eyes. “You weren’t serious about that, were you?”

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Matteo chuckled darkly and responded by scooping her up and twirling her out of the car. Geneveive squealed happily, making his heart. leap to his throat. She looped her arms around his neck and giggled.

“Night, Leo!” she called as Matteo used his shoulder to close the car door.

Leo’s response was muffled by the car door slamming. A moment later, Leo peeled off from the curb, leaving them alone. Matteo walked down the sidewalk to their apartment building, feeling more at peace than he had in ages. He would walk for miles just to keep her in his

arms.

“So what’s the next part of your plan?” Gen asked, tightening her hold around his neck and nuzzling her face into the crook of his

shoulder.

“A good closer never tells.”

“I see, it’s one of your trade secrets?”

“One of many, yes.”

“I do love surprises,” she admitted.

“Good, I love to surprise.”

They entered the warm lobby where Hector immediately jumped up from his chair to greet them. “Good evening, Mr. Accardi, Miss Sinclair. Is everything okay? Are you injured, Miss Sinclair?”

“Everything’s fine, Hector, Mr. Accardi here is just demonstrating the lost art of galantry,” Geneveive explained, sending Matteo a wink

that made his pants tighten.

“Yes, it’s one of many things Miss Sinclair is going to learn tonight,” he retorted, making her face flame with embarrassment.

“Well, you two have fun,” Hector said, returning to his crochet project, his own ears burning out of second–hand embarrassment.

Matteo walked up the stairs. Gen started to wiggle in his arms for her to be let down but he merely tightened his hold. He walked her up all five flights of stairs and didn’t set her down until they were directly in front of her door. He immediately cupped her face and went in for the kiss he’d been yearning for all evening.

“Woah!” Gen said, slapping her hand to his chest and shoving him back.

“What? You said…”

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Chapter Seventy–Seven

“It’s a first date,” she reminded him, making his eyes roll involuntarily upward. She laughed. “You’re supposed to pretend you don’t have

a sure–thing.”

Matteo chuckled. He placed one palm against the door beside her head. “So you admit you’re a sure–thing?”

She pursed her lips and shrugged. “For you? Have you ever had a doubt?”

It was his turn to shrug. “There were a few doubts on the morning you ran out on me.”

Gen’s humorous expression lessened and her eyes filled with guilt. “I know, I’m sorry, I…”

Matteo covered her mouth with the palm of his hand. “Shh, we’re not talking about regret tonight.” He removed his palm and traced the

tip of his index finger over her lips. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.

His finger left her lips. Her mouth parted as her breathing turned into shallow pants of need. His finger traced over her cheek and down

her throat. His eyes continued to watch her face as his finger continued down her chest. His hand flattened and cupped her breast,

making her head lull back against the wall. The stretching of her long slender neck made him groan. He traced his lips delicately over the

sensitive skin there.

“The truth is, I’ll chase you forever if you ask. I’ll go on a thousand first dates if they can all end this way. But pretend you’re not mine?

I’ll never be able to pretend I wasn’t in love with you from the moment you held me in your arms that first night,” he whispered against

her ear.

“Matteo,” Gen sighed.

“God, I love the way you say my name like it’s the only one you’ve ever spoken,” Matteo whispered.

“Please,” she begged, fisting the cotton of his dress shirt in her fists.

“Have I earned it yet, Weakness?”

“Yes,” she breathed, turning her face upward to his.

Matteo’s hands slid around her neck, delicately holding her in place as if he were setting the finest china on the top shelf where it belonged. His lips touched hers softly, barely a fleeting glance. He stepped closer and pressed his lips more firmly to hers. Her fists tightened, pulling his body flush against hers. She moaned and pulled back only so she could capture his bottom lip between her teeth. Matteo’s grip tightened as her tongue slipped into his mouth. He wasn’t sure how long they kissed. It could have been five seconds or five minutes. But when he pulled away from her, her lips were red and swollen and her eyes shimmered.

“I think this is the part where I tell you I had one of the best nights of my life. I tell you to call me and then I say goodnight,” Matteo whispered, his eyes moving from her lips to her lost gaze. Genevieve nodded. “Well, Genevieve, tonight was one of the best of my life. I’ll

be waiting by the phone. Good night.”

“Good night, Matteo,” she breathed as he stepped back.

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Matteo watched her unlock her door and step inside. A small smile graced her face. She bit her lip and closed the door, maintaining eye contact the entire time. Once the door was shut, Matteo let out a long, controlled breath. He pivoted on his heels and went to unlock his own door. His fingers shook as he turned the knob and entered his home. He leaned back against the cold door and groaned. God, she was going to touch herself tonight for sure. He would have to sleep on the couch again. A small knock reverberated through the door and up

his back.

Without looking through the peephole, he opened the door. Genevieve waited there with a mischievous smile on her face.

“You didn’t think I was that cruel, did you?”

Before he could answer, she leapt into his arms. Matteo grunted with the impact as his arms wrapped instinctively around her body. Her

mouth claimed his in a frenzy completely at odds with the tender kiss he’d just given her minutes earlier. Matteo groaned as she nipped

and bit along his mouth and down his neck.

“Close the door this time, would you?” Genevieve asked between kisses.

Matteo hooked the edge of the door with his foot and slammed it shut.

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